Okay, I have a question,
If a group of people enter a masqurade under a certain group name, do the awards that that specific group (regardless of which individuals were in those specific performances) still count? They should right?

For example, group ABC enters X anime con and wins Best in Show. ABC then enters Y anime con, but with some different people in their cast, so the award from X anime con counts in determining their placement, even though it was different people, correct?

Okay, I have a question,
If a group of people enter a masqurade under a certain group name, do the awards that that specific group (regardless of which individuals were in those specific performances) still count? They should right?

For example, group ABC enters X anime con and wins Best in Show. ABC then enters Y anime con, but with some different people in their cast, so the award from X anime con counts in determining their placement, even though it was different people, correct?

Yes, they do count. Even though we look at a group as a single unified unit, we only do so as part of the judging process. As far as individuals in the group and the awards they've received, we look at all of the awards from all the individuals in that group.

Division first determined if anyone qualifies as higher divisions based on awards...that is, if one person qualifies as a Master division based on awards, the whole group then competes as Master.

If there is a lack of awards, then we go more off of what the perceived skill level is...we base this loosely off of number of costumes people have made, but this is just a guideline...we allow the cosplayers to determine if they think their skills are actually of a higher level than Novice.

In a group situation, it always goes off of the person who qualifies for the highest division, as it would not be fair if a "pure" Novice group was competing against a group that was "mixed" with a Journeyman or Master involved.

Skill is always a tricky thing to determine, that's why we use the awards AND costumes made as a guideline to help. Of course, these guidelines are not set in stone, so if there's ever a question, the Cosplay DH/Coordinator should be asked for clarification about your specific situation.

It helps to consider that the concept of "cosplay groups" with names and such is really a relatively new invention and doesn't really exist outside anime cons. Generally, these groups aren't like...casts, people aren't interviewed and hired to join the group in order to perform. So, identifying yourself with a group is kind of pointless if you're going to end up competing with different people at every con. You just count, for yourself, the awards you've won whether in a group entry or individual entry. It does seem unfortunate that you could be bumped up a level just because you happened to be in a group that won a major award, but it happens all the time. It's how I jumped up from Novice. Since then I've competed solo or with less than three people, so I feel more like I've earned all of those awards, but group entries are a double-edged sword. Either the experienced people pull the newbs up to their level, or the novices pull the experienced ones down with their lack of ability. You never know until you're at the judging table which it'll be.

...allow me to add that repeating the same performance at another con after it's already won a major award is considered sandbagging, unless you're jumping up from a very small con to a larger one. It's gauche and people will not like you. But if you're just talking about a "group" of people that rotates members every time they think up a new idea for a masquerade, that's completely different.

__________________Founder and Vice-President, Madison Area Costuming Society, a chapter of the International Costumer's Guild

I was just wondering because I've been cosplaying a lot longer/have participated in a lot more masquerades than most of the people in my current cosplay group and I was wondering how much (if any) it factors in.

And while at first I was a little confused (Why bump up a whole group from Novice if only one person should be in the Journeyman category?) but it made a ton of sense when Traeonna said:

Quote:

In a group situation, it always goes off of the person who qualifies for the highest division, as it would not be fair if a "pure" Novice group was competing against a group that was "mixed" with a Journeyman or Master involved.

I'll just have to whip everyone in my group in shape until they reach my standards!
XD just kidding

Yep, that's the way it goes. The group competes at the level of the most-qualified person in their group. It's probably more fair than the Journeyman being forced to compete at Novice when they're really not...

I can't wait till I'm a Master...I want to watch my current group of friends flee from all ideas of competing alongside me.

__________________Founder and Vice-President, Madison Area Costuming Society, a chapter of the International Costumer's Guild

If I help my friend make a cosplay and he is there for the entire process from start to finish and we basically split the workload down the middle how does his entering a contest work? I clearly would be holding his hand during the process and helping him put everything together since he wouldn't know how to do most of it but I would like him to be able to say he made it and enter a contest with it.

How do judges normally look at something like that which is more of a group effort that leans heavier on the experienced person?

If you're at the same convention as him, and can go with him to the judging and explain what you did versus what he did, then that is usually fine. It is rare, but occasionally someone will enter a costume they don't plan to wear themselves - on a model. But they have to be at the con. If he's making it and you're helping, even better - you can go along and explain where you helped. It's even easier if you enter WITH him in the same performance, but not always necessary. The key is, just how much work IS he doing? And are you entering with him or is he entering solo? If you're with him, the judges will probably ask you most of the questions, but any work he did will also be visually judged - they'll look and determine how well the overall craftsmanship is.

Of course, that's ideal, at an ideal contest being run by competent judges. Your mileage may vary. They may not give a crap at all.

In a group entry, where one person did a lot of the work and the others helped where they could, you enter at a skill division appropriate to the most skilled person in the group. In other words, if you're a journeyman but a couple of novices are in your group, your whole group enters at journeyman. Just FYI.

__________________Founder and Vice-President, Madison Area Costuming Society, a chapter of the International Costumer's Guild

Oooh, this is helpful. I'm going to be making a group Tokyo Mew Mew cosplay and I want to enter us into Nebraskon's '10 Masquerade. Good to know this stuff, because I wasn't sure about details of one person doing all-most of the work. Glad I found this thread!! ^^"

This has probably been asked, but I don't wanna read every post, har har.

If you participate in a Masq. for the FIRST TIME, but you have an amazing costume, are you still considered a beginner/novice, even though your costume is almost unfair to be in that category, first timer or not?

Runner-ups generally don't count as anything...although it's so rare to see contests that still offer "runner-up" awards anyway. You'd have to ask the masquerade director of the next one you plan to enter - if they know the con, they'd be able to say whether that actually counts for something.

GENERALLY speaking, most places that use a 3-division system based off the ICG also use the guidelines for advancing, which is, one major award (Best in Class or Best in Show, or equivalent) to move from Novice to Journeyman, and 3-4 major awards to move up to Master. However, Master is an open class and anyone can compete in it at any time, even if they're new to costuming.

Aesceus - it doesn't matter what the costume looks like. Being a beginner doesn't mean your costume is going to automatically be crap. If you've never competed before, and aren't a professional, you're just a novice. Period. Enjoy it, because you probably won't be a novice for very long if your costumes really are that amazing.

__________________Founder and Vice-President, Madison Area Costuming Society, a chapter of the International Costumer's Guild

I've got a question about the ranking system..
I have never entered a masquerade in the 10+ years i've been cosplaying.. But, I went to fashion school, and I work at a place that makes mascots. I've heard from a friend that because I work in a costume related business, I have to enter the master division, regardless of the fact that I've never even participated in a masquerade..
Is this true? .. I'd be super nervous to compete at the master level if I've never done it before..

I've got a question about the ranking system..
I have never entered a masquerade in the 10+ years i've been cosplaying.. But, I went to fashion school, and I work at a place that makes mascots. I've heard from a friend that because I work in a costume related business, I have to enter the master division, regardless of the fact that I've never even participated in a masquerade..
Is this true? .. I'd be super nervous to compete at the master level if I've never done it before..

Since you've never competed you would enter novice. If the judges felt your skill was higher than that, which it probably is, they would bump you up. But if you have never entered before you enter novice. Usually the entrance requirements have to do with the amount of awards you have won.